Rural mail-box.



C. O. HALLING.

RURAL MAIL BOX. l APPLICATION FILED mm2?. 1913.

l 9 l Patented Dee. 29, 1914. Inf f j CHARLES 0. HALLING, 0F MILAN,MINNESOTA.

RURAL MAIL-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 29, 1931 d.

Application led March 27, 1913. Serial No. 757,082.

To alt yw/O/n, t may concer/L Be it known that I, CiIARLns O. HALLING, acitizen of the Unitedv States, residing at Milan, in the county ofChippewa and State of -Minnesota, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Rural Mail- Boxes; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to ma'keand use the same.

My invention has for its object to prol vide a simple and highlyeflicient rural mail box, and to such ends, generally stated, thoinvention consists of the novel devices and combinations of deviceshereinafter described and defined in the claims.

It is a very common practice along rural mail routes to have a number ofmail boxes located at road crossings and at various other designatedplaces, where the owners of the boxes may deposit and receive mail,either letters or parcels. As the rural mail carrier has a long route,all possible conveniences and the greatest possible accessibility ofboxes are very desirable. In northern climates, the snow in winter timeoften makes it diflicult for the carrier to reach the boxes which areplaced, usually on posts at the most accessible points. It, therefore,follows that the greater the number of boxes that can be assembled andreached by the carrier, from one point or position, the

greater will be the saving of the carriers time. and the less will bethe difficulty in keeping the snow cleared where necessary, in order toreach the boxes.

The improved post and multi-compartment mail box, in its preferredform,is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like charactersindicate like part throughout theseveral views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view chiefly in side elevationwith some parts in vertical section and with some parts broken away,showing the improved post and box; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the partsshown in Fig. 1 looking at the same from the right toward the left; andFig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line m3 ma on Fig. 1.

The post proper, is preferably in the form of a wrcught iron or steelpipe 1, the lower end of which is adapted to be set into concrete, orotherwise snitably anchored to the ground. A swivel pipe 2 is, as shown,screwed onto the upper end of the post l.

A supporting head 3, which is preferably of tubular forni is providedwith a depending sleeve l swiveled on the pipe 2 and held againstdisplacement by set screws 5. The present form of the device includestwo mail boxes or compartments, and the elements 3 1 form a hollow' Twhich is swiveled to the post. lVhere four boxes are desired, theswiveled head would be provided with transversely intersecting tubularportions atfording four radial arms to which boxes may be applied.Obviously, the swiveled heads should have as many arms as there areboxes applied thereto.

The mail noxes proper 6, are preferably constructed from sheet metal andare tubular in form, being preferably provided with flat bottoms. Theseboxes are supported from the arms of the swiveled head, each, as shown,by means of two approximately parallel and normally upright links '(#72pivotally connected to the 'said head and to the bottoms of the saidboxes. The outer links 7 are provided with short transverse pins 8 thatwork freely through slots 9 in the sides of the ends of the tubularportion 3 of the swiveled head. These pins 8 are connected by a coiledspring 10, the tension of which is suiiicient to normally hold the boxes6 in raised positions shown in Fig. 1. To make the said springadjustable, it is preferably anchored directly to metallic vokes 11`that straddle the pins' 8 and are provided with adjusting screws 12 forengagement with said pins.

The inner ends of the mail boxes 6 are closed, but at their outer ends,they are provided with hinged doors 13 having short depending arms 14connected by links 15 to the outer box supporting links 7. The'doors 13are set inward -of the outer edges of the boxes 6 so that rain cannotdash into the box. As shown, small stop clips 16 on the tops of theboxes 6 limit the inward movements of the hinged doors 13.

Normally,.the mail boxes will be held in their uppermost positions closetogether and high lenough up so that they will not be likely to bebroken. To make it an easy matter to lower the boxes, they may beprovided with depending chains or cables 17.

When articles are to be placed within the boxes orto be removedtherefrom by persons on foot, they may be drawn down into a positionshown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, in which position, the leverage is suchthat the lowered boxes will be held down by gravity against the tensionrof the springs l0. It will be noted that the very act of drawing themail box downward, causes its hanger door 13 to be automatically openedand moved into a horizontal position, so that it affords a convenient'shelf for articles to be inserted or removed, also, it is importantto'note that the box, throughout its raising and lowering movements,lremains always horizontal. Of course, also, the very act of moving thebox back to its normal position, automatically closes its door. When thebox is to be returned to its normal or uppermost position, it is onlynecessary to raise the same to a point where the spring becomesoperative` to complete the return movement. As the box supporting headis swiveled, a person standing at one point may cause any one of theseveral boxes to be rotated to a position where it may be easilyreached.

The mail carrier usually drives a closed vehicle and with such a rig,when he drives to the proper position at the side of the post, he mayrotate the head and draw down the boxes, one after the other, until anyone or all thereof, have been examined, and the contents removed orarticles placed therein. When the mail box is drawn downward, it isprojected outward from the post, so that it will come to a properposition in front of the mail 'carrier while on the seat of his vehicle.

This improved box and post may be constructed at comparatively smallcost and is strong, and durable. Of course, mail boxes of this charactermay be made of any de-v sired sizes, either for the reception onlyofletters and ordinary mail "matter, or also for the reception of sucharticles as may properly come by parcel post.

What I claimis:

l. The combination with a post having a horizontal tubular head, of amail I pair 'of outer laterally spaced links and an inner link pivotallysupporting said mail box from said tubular head, the lower ends of saidouter links embracing said head, and a coiled spring anchored in saidhead, connected to said outer links and normally holding said links inupright positions.

2. The combination with a post, having a horizontal tubular head, of amail box, having a hinged door, 'a pair of outer laterally spaced linksand an inner link pivotally supporting said mail box from said tubularhead, the lower ends of said outer links embracing said head, a coiledspring anchored inl said head, connected to said outer links andnormally holding said links in upright positions, and a link connectionbetween said hinged door and certain of said links, operative to causesaid door to open when said box is drawn downward and outward, and topositively close when said box is returned to normal position.

3. The combination with a post, having a horizontal tubular head withslots in its sides, of a mail box, a pair of outer laterally spacedlinksk and. an inner link pivotally supporting said-mailbox from saidtubular head, .the lower'ends of said outer links embracing said head, atransverse pin connecting said laterally spaced links, arranged to beseated in the slots in said tubular head, and a coiled spring anchoredin said head, connectedv to said transverse pin and normally holdingsaid links 'in upright positions, and said pin seated in said slots.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES o. HALLING.

box, a-

